Sunday, October 24, 2010

Failing to notice

I was a reading a book that day and came across this...

"The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change; until we know how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds." ~ R.D. Laing

Our failure to notice kills our ability to change...

It's dinner time!

Here's me cooking up a storm in the kitchen again. Well, not exactly cooking up a storm I would say but kinda just felt like cooking, cooking just simple dishes :P Eggs with tomatoes, nothing new, just wanted to make good use of those tomatoes in the refrigerator. Bought thin asparagus, tau kwa and lean meat. Pan-fried the strips of tau kwa and stir fried them with the lean meat and asparagus, thought a little of the black bean sauce might add an interesting flavour to it :P But didn't put too much of that coz my parents may not like it too salty, Mummy did warn me about the amount of black bean sauce to add in :P Hmm, I thought this dish goes well with brown rice that Mummy cooked but I thought it was a little too dry, should have had a little bit more gravy. Mummy also made pumpkin soup. My usual way of eating...mash the real soft pumpkin, mix it with my brown rice and eat it like a kinda of puree :P

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Majority or minority

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
You know...to be a part of the majority, you need to learn acceptance. To be the minority, you need to have courage.

Friday, October 22, 2010

There will be...

As I flipped through the pages, glad that I have kept these memories...

A quiet afternoon

Once in a while, I think we need to spend some time away from the crowd and just to enjoy some peace and quiet. Well, I did today. Craving for the sea bass and shrimp salad at Cedele so decided to head down to Great World City for a late lunch. I have always enjoyed the taste of the salad dressing, light and tangy. The seafood was fresh too :P Ordered a pot of Egyptian mint tea to enjoy the quiet afternoon.

A journey...not a destination

"Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude." ~ Denis Waitley

Monday, October 18, 2010

Step by step

It was Nana's wedding yesterday...I remember how a group of us cousins played together when we were still children. We had fun playing at our grandmother's house during the weekends. Nana was a real chubby girl then, I was also kinda like her elder sister, looking out for her. Oh mine, how time really flies, she is a grown up now...She's a beautiful bride too, especially in her traditional Peranankan costume during the wedding dinner yesterday. Hmm, I guess life is sometimes like walking up a flight of stairs, every step is a stage of life. Heh, maybe the kinda shoes you wear would then be kinda like the choices you make along the way. Some fit and some dun really fit. Some breeze through the various steps like a feather and some would probably take each step with much caution. Well, no matter which step or what stage each one of us is at, there are probably three words to sum up life...it goes on.

More leftovers

I guess it's about leftovers on Sundays. Leftovers from preparing packed lunch last Thursday...maccaroni. Leftovers from the crab feast with Kat, Rene, Miss Tan and Jakki last Friday...chilli crab from Mellben Seafood. Well, you combine the two and you will get chilli crab maccaroni :P It was a Sunday lunch for Mummy and me yesterday. Although Mummy was rushing to get her hair done, I knew she couldn't resist the chilli crabs :P

Friday, October 15, 2010

His friend...Lovely Labrador

Look at those eyes...ain't they lovely? I could feel his excitement as I was getting him ready for a walk. He couldn't wait for the door to open, he couldn't wait to climb up those steps that led to the pathway in the garden, he couldn't wait to sniff the grass which he was not allowed to walk on, he couldn't wait to start barking at any stranger that he saw...he just couldn't wait. You know what, I think he couldn't wait to see his good friend, Lovely Labrador. He wanted to walk on that walkway that led to the unit that Lovely Labrador was in. Unfortunately, Lovely Labrador was inside the house and the glass door was shut. Sunny baby seemed disappointed, he barked (which he usually didn't). Lovely Labrador was looking eagerly out of the glass door and wagging its tail. I dunno but I thought that was really a sweet moment...I wish they got to sniff each other's nose that day...they have not met for a long time, I guess. Gave Sunny baby a little cuddle after that...we will visit Lovely Labrador again :)

Still thinking of autumn

I was having afternoon tea with Angeline and Mark yesterday. It was a balcony that I probably have seen quite a number of times but I think I have not tried to notice the details in every part of it. I was sitting on a newly bought chair :P and as I looked down, loved what I saw...

"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." ~ Albert Camus

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

It's autumn

XF sent me this pic...It's finally autumn. I remember asking XF if it's already autumn in Basel... I wanna see autumn...I wanna smell autumn...I wanna feel autumn...I wanna tread on the path that's filled with fallen leaves. If I close my eyes, would I be able to see, smell and feel autumn? ...Ha, anyway, who cares what this silly, crazy gal wants :P You know, the existence of seasons is the reason for the numerous beautiful happenings in this world. Have you ever realised that?...I have just asked XF for more pictures of autumn...

Sunday, October 10, 2010

What's left in the refrigerator

My parents were out shopping when I woke up near noon today, my head was swirling, not sure due to lack of sleep or have slept too much for the day :P Settled my own lunch. Opened the refrigerator to see what I have got or what's available to work with, gathered a few of my favourite stuff and started cooking. Green pepper, mushrooms, baby corn, carrots and wolfberries, stir-fried with garlic and oyster sauce. There you go, my lunch, just those :P Finished the whole bowl of veggie and made myself some peppermint tea. Hmmm, life is good :)

Snowy snowy white

XF sent me a pic of the snow mountain she visited, the one that we wanted to conquer in summer but were not able to do so :P It's Jungfrau. Lucky for her, weather was great and she saw snowy snowy white all over...

Eat, Pray, Love

I knew I wanna watch this movie. XF has got that book but I have not really got started on the book :P You know what, I am glad I watched the movie. It's kinda like a feel-good movie. A few times while driving home late last night after the movie, I was smiling, thinking of the movie. Crazy, silly gal :P As I watched the movie, interestingly, I seemed to see myself in Liz Gilbert...there seemed to be some parts of her life which I thought I could relate to. As I continued to watch the movie, I thought there were simple but yet important reminders or lessons for all of us...Before I went to bed last night, wrote down these...
We usually see with our eyes, how often do we use our hearts to see? How do we use our hearts to see? How does it feel to see with our hearts? See the world not with your eyes but with your heart...
It is sad to be told to enjoy life, isn't it? We do not need to be rich or famous to enjoy life, how many of us can simply enjoy the simple and little things in life? How many of us can even enjoy the simple pleasure of just doing nothing? You know, the power to choose could easily be the most formidable power one could ever possess. But how much are we using this I would say innate power of ours? How ready are we to face the consequences of the choice made? Should we just live as though we do not know what's gonna happen to us at the end of the day? Must we always be so careful and realistic all the time?...Why not now?
There is certainly joy in solitude but I feel that something seems amiss in my life at times, leaving a space in my heart. Do I know the answer to this? Or could it be I am just kinda afraid to handle the answer?...Should there always be balance to have a balanced life? I was thinking..at the end of the day, maybe it's not so much about searching or discovering oneself but it's more about eat, pray and love...it's about going over to the other side, the courage to cross boundaries that one has set for himself or herself...

The celebration still continues...


Well, well, well, who's seven days older?? :P Rene asked a friend to bake cupcakes but you know wat Rene, I still miss your cupcakes :)

I thought the pineapple rice was not much different from other Thai restaurants but the prawns were pretty fresh though. The same goes for the mango salad, pretty ordinary.

Even though the red snapper was being fried, one could still taste the freshness of the fish.

A real huge chunk of chicken wrapped in pandan leaves, yummy!

I always like the eggplant in green curry. I thought this green curry was a little salty.

This satay saved me...ordered this while waiting for the rest, was so hungry :P Chicken was really well done, nice and tender.

It was a birthday celebration for two October babies, with one just seven days older than the other :P We had lunch yesterday at Jim Thompson Restuarant along Minden Road. Wow, I must say service was really good, very attentive and polite staff, seemed like royalty treatment the minute I entered the restaurant. While waiting for the rest, ordered a lemongrass drink, whooo...it was nice and refreshing, I felt like I was in Thailand, simply love the relaxing feel and taste of lemongrass. There was also traditional Thai dance performance while I sipped on my lemongrass :P Food was good, ingredients were fresh but I thought the prices were kinda exorbitant for simple Thai food. But nevertheless, the meal really made me feel like going to Thailand, the land of smiles :) ...Thanks Cons, Rene and Jakki for the meal, the great company and all the laughter that afternoon, hugz!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

The celebration continues...

A product of Speck ...A piece of artwork..."Waves" by Eve Duhamel

Today, a group of colleagues surprised me with a cake! Well, they were trying to hide in various corners of the staff lounge, all ready to 'pounce', haha, that was really interesting! Reminded me of how my close ex-colleagues used to celebrate my birthday at my previous workplace :P ...Received part 2 of my birthday gift from Mark today too. He has been into online shopping recently and has purchased an iPhone cover for me, delivery was a little late although he has kinda purchased it more than a month ago :P The design...they call it "Waves", I like the colours and the curves in that design. I feel that it has presented a real cheery and playful outlook, well, simply because art should be fun :) Guess what, I am carrying around a piece of art now, ha :P

Spot the similarities

Picture sent by XF. Love this pic lots! It's Sidney and Monkie :P Notice the similarities? But one is in Basel and the other at home...

What do we see?

Picture sent by XF :P It's Purple and Pinky! ...We peer with our little eyes. What do we see?

You are sweet!

Snoop dearie, it's really a pleasant and lovely surprise! You have certainly brought a smile on my face, thank you :) You are really sweet too!

It's a piggy!

We were out for dinner when they were delivered. Ha, in the end, it was left at our neighbour's house. Got them the next day. It was a bouquet of flowers and a flat piggy :P Gave the piggy a squeeze, so huggable! What a lazy-looking piggy :P ...Sis dearie, thank you! Hugs and kisses too :)

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Happy happy birthday


I am really thankful for and appreciative of all the many texts received, cards, lovely gifts and hugs. Thank you for remembering, it means alot :) Most wanted me to enjoy my special day. But was thinking, why must we wait till our special day to enjoy our day? Why couldn't every day be like a birthday celebration? Why couldn't every day be like unwrapping a birthday present? Why must wait till that special day? Why couldn't every day be special in its little way? Isn't every day a gift? ...To those lovely people reading this now, I wish there's a better phrase than "thank you", love ya all! The candles are blown out, wishes made...Happy Birthday, happy every day, silly gal...

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

A family dinner

My lovely loved ones :)

He ate lots :P

Kway tiao with chai poh, the Teochew way!

Ha, I think the tau kwa beneath interests me more than the goose meat :P

Teochew steamed promfet...I like the soup

The wu xiang was good but seriously did not know how to appreciate that jelly-like appetizer :P

Didi suggested having traditional Teochew cuisine for dinner tonight and we thought maybe we should go back to Mong Hin where we also had dinner one year ago. He has been around in Singapore for almost a week and he has always been eating and eating. Well, I feel that I am no different from him these few days :P Well, his holiday is coming to an end, he's flying back to China tomorrow. Glad that both Didi and XF will be back home this December :) ...Idiot Didi was still asking me to eat those durians in the refridgerator with him just now after dinner at the restaurant. I really could not stuff any more food :P

A dear friend

Slacker Part II :P

Avoided phototaking coz no make-up and puffy eyes after a night of mahjong but ha, managed to take one while she's on the phone, oops! :P

Without fail, this dear friend of mine will always arrange to meet me on 5 Oct. It was kinda a late lunch at Coffee Club but I think we chatted till the evening. Ha, as usual, talked about anything under the sun and yes, I really meant anything :P ...Dearest Guiyu (an ardent fan of my blog), many years have passed (I have lost count of the number, as usual :P), we have gone through many stages of our lives, we have celebrated numerous birthdays but one thing remains unchanged...Thank you for the much treasured friendship :)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Durian Durian

Didi bought durians home just now and wanted me to join him for a durian feast. He always loves to buy and eat durians whenever he's back home in Singapore. Goodness, I feel I need to be on some detox programme for the next couple of weeks (I think I am pretty serious about this :P). Well, ate one seed of that durian, it was good. But nope, did not reach for the second one :P

Minty lemongrass

Derrick was in the mood to cook so was invited over to have some homecooked food Sunday evening. Melon soup, vegetables, steamed fish and kimchi, with brown rice...the joy of simple fare. Dessert was cakes, bought from a traditional confectionary, interesting! With the great variety of pastries and cakes available in the market nowadays, how many of us actually still enjoy cakes from those traditional confectionaries that probably have a long history behind them. Mark made some hot lemongrass drink with mint leaves plucked from the garden, reminded me of Thailand and even spa...refreshing, great drink after a meal or after spa :P You know, I seemed to be on holiday for the past few days, but I knew I really enjoyed those few days of holiday. Could there be more? :P

What's in that space?

Experimenting what's the best angle to capture Sunny baby with Mark's help. I would say this is my favourite shot, I really love it! ...Hmm, sometimes, we just need to get away from the crowd for a while and enjoy that personal space that we need. I see space, I see peacefulness and silence in that picture. It is probably in that space, peacefulness and silence that one finds meaning in life.

2 Oct...The cake and the company

The lovely company :)

Special donuts (that's what I would call them) bought by Adeline!

We spent quite some time finishing our 7-course dinner. You know, I think I have never had someone singing (or was he shouting?) a birthday song so loudly for me, much louder than my friends I must say :P One of the waiters really sang his heart out, ha, but that was really nice of him though. The game of "Hit or Miss" (a gift from Lishan) was really a hit that night after dinner, we played till late into the night at Derrick's place. We had lotsa fun, or at least I did. Sometimes, I simply love those times we get together to play, love to see that playful child in each of us :)

Sunday, October 3, 2010

2 Oct...Dinner at Tao's

Cheesy bacon & mushroom gratin with toasted thick slices of bread...An enticing way to kick off the 7-course meal :P

Top shell with Japanese cold noodles...Next time, I am gonna try having my top shell salad on top of some Japansese cold noodles, great appetizer :P

Room for mushroom? ...juicy, wonder what they put in that sauce

Cream of mushroom...whooo, lotsa mushroom, wholesome!

Snapper...fresh and really love the sauce on it, finger-licking good!

Green tea ice cream...a little more bitterness in it would be just great for me

Rose apple tea...refreshing but was focusing more on the aesthetical aspect of it, haha!

Sometimes, it just feels good not to make any decisions and to have everything planned for you :P I was glad I did not do much of decision making for dinner on Saturday. I was given three options for dinner and I just gotta pick one :P Thank you Mark for providing the options and arranging! :) I chose Tao's Restaurant at PoMo. A 7-course dinner set for each, I thought this kinda arrangement would be good for a big group, reducing the hassle of deciding what to eat or what to order. Each one of us got to choose our appetizer, soup, main entree, dessert and tea. The rest like starter and another side were the same for all. So, just sharing my own 7-course dinner :P

Rainee

I am gonna call him Rainee. Rain or shine, I know lovely Rainee will always be there by my side. Thank you Kat :)

Saturday, October 2, 2010

A ticket? A birthday card?

I was totally puzzled when I opened the envelope and saw this 'ticket' cum birthday card. Well, it obviously did not look like a real ticket to the play :P Haha, had a real good laugh when I looked at the seat number. Very clever and creative, gals :P

At the back of the 'ticket'...Well, the date is on!

The creators of the 'ticket'...look at that grin on their faces :P

Goodness, it must be the biggest Tiramisu cake I have ever had :P

It was lunch at Shin Kushiya, a pretty late lunch I would say. But it's good, no lunchtime crowd, nice and quiet Friday afternoon to enjoy Japanese food. You know, I think it's really the most interesting birthday gift that I have ever received. The gals told me about how they had thought so hard about the birthday gift. Was really touched when I knew that they had spent their Thursday evening 'designing and creating' that gift, hmm, card :) ...Thank you gals, for the treat, the cake, the gifts (both Part I and II). Most of all, thank you so much for your friendship, I am really glad that our paths crossed and we got the chance to know each other, love ya :)

Friday, October 1, 2010

What's for dessert?

There were quite a selection of beautiful and delightful cakes and pastries at the high tea buffet at Goodwood Park but I was really kinda too full to eat. Nevertheless, decided to take a few of those pretty little cakes and take a picture of them. Well, with the help of Rene and Edmond, hee, managed to finish those little cakes and pastries on that plate. Always glad to share calories :P ...It was really a nice and sweet little treat from Rene, Joyce, Julia and Edmond for the three October babies! Thank you! :)

Tea at Goodwood Park Hotel

Well, it was kinda a high tea buffet at Goodwood Park Hotel on a Thursday afternoon. It was almost 4pm when I met the rest, real famished by then as I did not manage to find time to get a proper lunch that day. The selection of sandwiches was good, was pretty curious about what were sandwiched in between those slices of bread. Tried the scones and they had that kinda cream (introduced by Cassy when I was in London) for scones. The scones, nice and warm, were delicious when eaten with the cream and jam! What a nice and relaxing afternoon tea time...